Hello fam! Welcome back to my blog. If this is your first time, happy new year and thank you so much for stopping by. You could have been anywhere else. This is the second blog post for this year but feel free to go through the archives and read up. You might learn a thing or two.

2021 has started off with an interesting bang (or whiplash or whatever you call it). The pandemic is still very much around, with more than 22 million cases in the US and over 370 thousand deaths. In Nigeria, a new strain is wrecking havoc. We are now hearing news of people affected by Covid-19. It is ringing home. We also experienced a failed coup-d’état orchestrated by ardent supporters of President Donald J Trump.

In the midst of wars, rumors of wars, pestilences, pandemics and what not, dear reader, I ask you by the mercies of God to GUARD YOUR MIND and keep it healthy as we journey into 2021 and this decade. The level of craziness and toxicity that will be unleashed on planet earth will be of unseen magnitude. It is important that our minds are healthy enough to sift through the junk and only allow whatsoever is good, pure, lovely and of a good report to stay.

During one of my morning walks three verses of scripture kept running in my heart:

“God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound-mind” (2nd Timothy 1:7)

“Guard your heart with all diligence for out of it comes the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23)

“…..Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2b)

For almost 3 hours, these scriptures will not leave me alone. In my time of mediation, I began to ask the Holy Spirit why He was bringing my attention to these scriptures. Here is what I received: “Yes, you have the mind of Christ, yes, I have given you a sound mind, but it is YOUR RESPONISIBILITY to keep it sound. That was light for me! I knew it entered me and there was shift. All my life as a Christian, I have always asked God to bring the reality of 2nd Timothy 1:7 to manifestation. I was putting the onus on God. I will pray and say ” I receive a sound mind in Jesus Name, I receive, I receive, I receive”. He gave it for sure, but I was not RENEWING it. I was not doing what it took to CONSTANTLY maintain a sound mind.

The good thing about the Christian faith is that ALL things will always work for our good. When we pass through trying times we come out on top. We are the unburnt, and undrowned in Christ. It took a total mental spiral from September to December of last year to know that I needed help. I would have been suicidal but for the grace of God. The report from my oncologist was not well taken. I had to go back to medications I did not want and the side effects of those medications were not a cake walk. That was the beginning. It took therapy to undo the effects of the negative feedback.

As we begin this year, what do we need to do to ensure that our minds are healthy? I will be touching on the first two points today.

1. Be CAREFUL with what you feed your mind. I cannot overemphasize this point enough. Our eyes and ears are the primary gates to our minds. Whatever you read, listen to will form your belief system. They are building blocks. Once you let those blocks merge, it takes effort to dislodge and put a proper building block. At the height of the COVID pandemic last year, I barely watched the news. I had to be very careful. As someone with business in the hospitality industry, I could have believed that TamBo’s Kitchen will not make it based on the reports. About 60% of our revenue comes from catering. That was gone. Another 20% came from those who sat down to dine. That was out the window. Only 20% came from take-out orders. I do not know of any business that can survive on 20% of its revenue stream in the physical sense. However, God came through because I KNEW from my walk with God that:
   1. Pandemics, famines, etc are normal life cycles
   2. God always has a system of exemption for His children. He did it for Isaac, He did it for the Israelites in Goshen, He will do it for me too.

Oh He did! Above and beyond!!! You would have to call me so I can give you the full gist. The restaurant is alive and well.

I love music but I do not just listen to any music. It has to edify. It has to lift my mood or get me dancing. It does not mean I do not have fun, I am just very careful because my mind absorbs information like a sponge. As a worship leader in my church I have a rule that if I will be leading or participating in praise and worship, I cannot stay out and party late the night before. Even if I am not dancing at the party, I noticed that the next morning, my mind will start playing all the songs at the party! Can you imagine leading praise and worship and Naira Marley or Davido is playing at the back of your mind? Na wa!! The mind is very delicate. The mind is the battle ground for our very existence. If you are going to be wealthy, it starts in your mind. If you are going to achieve life goals, you have to conceptualize them in your mind first. Everything in life is built twice! First, in our minds, then physically. That is why you hear of companies or people who go bankrupt and bounce back. That which was built in their mind is still standing, so the physical one can be rebuilt. The Tower of Babel had not been built physically, all Nimrod Cush and company did was conceptualize. God saw the concept and He knew they could build it. He had to scatter them so they would not build it physically.

2. WATCH the company you keep. I once heard a preacher say ” you are what you read and the company your keep” Dear reader, who do you roll with? Has your current company improved you? What social media groups are you a part of? What have you gained from them? What social clubs are you a part of? What have you gained from them? The people who stormed the Capitol truly believed that the election was stolen. They were mostly part of the same social media groups. What fellowship groups are you a part of? What have you gained? Take a true stock of your ALL relationships. Are you improving someone? Is someone improving you? Who do you sit with? Who do you walk with? Who do you stand with? (Psalm 1:1). Who are the people sharpening your intellect and emotions? Do a toxicity check on your relationships.

If you are in a marital relationship and things are not so rosy on the home front, I hope that you will put counselling or couples therapy as high priority on your list this year. Let me share a personal testimony with you, that I have tested and handled. When my husband and I are in TOTAL agreement concerning anything, we do not pray much. We just speak it to the atmosphere and it is done. The Bible says if two or more shall agree as touching ANYTHING, God is committed to perform. When a man and a woman are truly ONE in marriage, even the enemy cannot stop them. This is why the devil is on overtime, stealing, killing and destroying marriages and homes. Your prayer points will be less when there is peace in your home. Your home will be bliss when the two of you operate at the same mental frequency. Listen, dear reader, when it comes to the home, God sees ONE of you or NONE of you. A kingdom divided against itself can NEVER stand. Nurture your marital company. If you are single, and the other person does not make you better, I don’t understand why you are still in it. Receive grace to be unstuck and free. Everyone deserves peace, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. You do not need to sell yourself short. It is not worth it. Marriage is work!

I am going to stop here today. I hope you have learnt a thing or two. Please leave me some feedback. Let me know what you think. Have a wonderful rest of the week. Love you tons! Please subscribe and share this with folks in your sphere of influence. Cheers to a healthy 2021!

xoxo

OEMA